WOW factor..........the write-up
Kerry, WOW!
I set off from Waterford at dawn in very cool conditions and the ride across the Blackwater valley and north Cork was uneventful except for the frigid,foggy conditions.......not nice!
Arriving in Killarney the sun was beaming and I warmed up. Having a tight scedule (I had arranged to meet Richie at 1pm) but not wanting to rush any one spot I opted to drop the Gap of Dunloe and the Black Valley from my route as I wanted to pop my Ballaghbeama Gap cherry
The entry point at Killorglan is un-spectacular, but by Glenacar the scenery soon breaks and the Reeks scenery so familiar from postcards opens up in front of you. The Ballaghbeama Gap itself looks awesome - steep rocky sides with quite a narrow path through it. A few cars were unexpected - the roads were generally very quiet.
BALLAGHBEAMA GAP
There's a (not great quality) video clip here (2.5 minutes...so you might want to fast forward!)
http://homepage.eircom.net/~archer/Biking/Ballaghbeama Gap ride thru.wmv
Having paused to take a few piccys......
LOOKING BACK TOWARDS KNOCKAUNANATTIN
FROM THE SNEEM - KENMARE ROAD
So, onwards to Kenmare and the meet up with Richie and Fulachtfia (Peter).
We headed out the road towards Tuosist for a bit but turned early up into the mountains again towards Knockeirka. I had to haul the lads up a bit here.....familiarty with the beautiful scenery meant that they were keen to make progress while I was in 'soaking up mode'! Anyway, more fantastic scenery - on very narrow roads
- and onwards across the Kenmare to Glengarriff Rd and up towards Preists Leap. This area is really stunning and in the absolutely still air all that could be heard was the croaking of Ravens overhead and the clinking of the engines as they cooled - sublime!
Here's a composite panoramic photo of the area - stitched from a few separate images.
http://homepage.eircom.net/~archer/Biking/Kerry Comp 1.jpg
PRIESTS LEAP overlooking BANTRY BAY
HUNGRY HILL
and here' a video of the descent from Priests Leap back towards Glengarriff with Bantry Bay in the distance (again, you might want to avoid, or Fast Forward - 4 minutes long)
http://homepage.eircom.net/~archer/Biking/PriestsLeap.wmv
After a deserved break in Glengarriff, (scorching !!!) we headed for Adrigole and some minor side roads (thanks Richie!) before tackling the Tim Healy Pass. When planning the day, I wasn't optimistic that time would permit this bit, but this was a fantastic addition to the day and well, well worth it. I've never ridden on something quite like this.......Irelands Stelvio!
Awesome.....
and a video clip if you want....about 6 minutes total length
http://homepage.eircom.net/~archer/Biking/Tim Healy Pass.wmv
So it was time to go, and as Richie headed off myself and Peter rode back towards Cork via Ballylickey and over the Cousane Gap. Peter departed at Dunmanway and my last intended stop before home was Beal-na-Blath
- where a tyre check revealed a nice big nail in the rear! It looked 'fast' and as I had a tyre guage I decided to carry on but to stop every 30km or so and ensure that it was not loosing air - would you have done the same???
Now I have this to fix it but nothing could put the dampers on such a great day.
The route in full (575km, home to home)
Vireo
